Monday, June 22, 2009

Well the legs are hurting (a lot) today, but it was worth every minute of it.....So far the WORS racing has been amazing. Three races, three battles, and three really good courses. Don and staff have been killing it and a huge thanks to him to allow the midwests best go at it every other weekend. Speaking of good weekends...check this out.

Saturday morning Andrea and I drove the 2 hours west to Mt. Morris ready for another day in the saddle. Don yelled go and I was happy with my jump off of the line.

I then fell asleep through the next 5 minutes of the race as Ted H was riding away. It took a quick spill in the rocks to wake me up....panic mode was not what I wanted though as my rear suspension lockout cable and housing was dangling in the wind. I reached down on the grassy climb after the lake and luckily got the housing back in the stop as TJ went by me. TJ took over pace making and at the midpoin of the race it was down to 4. Jesse, Tristan, and I seemed pretty content to let TJ set the tempo as the heat increased. Starting the last lap Tristan went and got a gap...it slowly built. At the top of the climb the heat finally got to me and the legs started cramping....I couldn't go any more as I watched Jesse go around me. I recovered a little towards the end, but it was too late. 4th place. Andrea had problems with her road shoes and pedals. Hopefully her MTB shoes show this week.

After the race we cruised to Wautoma in search of a pool, pizza, and a place to sleep. We only found the pizza, and were soon headed back towards Sheboygan. It hurt to wake-up Sunday morning at 6am to drive back to the race....but there was some more racing fun to be had!

A little 'BA Summer of 69' got the blood flowing at around 7:30am on the solo drive back to Mt. Morris. Andrea decided to stay home and hang with dad for fathers day.

The racing started on foot this time around. I warned the guys I had trained earlier in the year, but it didn't work as I was 3rd or 4th to the bike. Took the first corner in 3rd behind TJ and Tristan. Played the waiting game as Tristan passed TJ on the descent and others behind crashed trying risky passes. Then I attacked on the 1 slight climb and took the lead into the final singletrack for the win.

3 hours later and a motivational phone call to Simonson had us lined up again for the short track. Short being the key word. With a mcuh shorter lap and no climb I opted for the Top Fuel for the 3rd race out of 3. I had another good jump off the start line followed by some tempo to keep Furios Fred from getting too big of a first lap gap.

The action was tight as there was really only 30 seconds of pedaling per lap. It was hard to get any significant gap. I stayed calm and kept the gaps within reason. With 2 to go I bridged up to Chris and went by him.....he jumped onto my wheel, but never had the gas to come around me. I hung on for the second win!

Tristan and I weren't quite sure who won the overall, but I guess a 1st, 1st, and 4th, is 3 points better than a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. In the end I won $5 more than Tristan and then he stole my last piece of pizza so we were even on the weekend. I still think he should name his baby Morris or Morrissa in honor of his last WORS Win before becoming a dad.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

I smashed myself this past weekend.......I wanted to update the blog sooner, but it took 3 days to recover! It took a lot on this stuff to make things better! Getting ready for the big Subaru Cup this weekend. Then some TofADairyland road races! I can't beleive summer has finally arrived.

Here is a sweet pic of my best friend Andy and his new baby!

Oh yeah....Holy Canoli was my all time favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor. It really put me on the map of professional cycling!

It all started early Sunday morning...the rain was pouring and both Andrea and I needed an extra cup of joe to get going. The motivation was low and the legs were still a little sore to the touch from Wed and Thursdays training. I knew the pain would disappear as soon as Don yelled Go.

I had a great jump off the line and took the field through the first corners. Jesse soon took over...and inflicted the first bit of pain for the day. I wasn't prepared for such a long technical climb, nor did I think the trail would be so greasy in some spots. Jesse and Marko had a sizeable gap after the first singletrack as Mr. Tree was rippin' popplers out of the earth. I thought it was game over right off the bat......but I managed to rip the next singletrack and closed the gap. Soon after Eppen did the same and after a Lap there was 4.

Starting Lap 2 Jesse was still in command and Eppen lost contact. Jesse asked if we had done this section before and I reminded him we had done it for 24 hours. Once again we were down to the original 3!

Lap 3 Marko took over and Jesse dropped in on my wheel. I felt like Jesse was studying my every move like a chess match setting up for a last lap pain session! Marko seemed to be riding a very comfortable pace and Eppen started clawing his way back. I wasn't really interested in having another riding partner so on the next dirt road section I launched my first attack. The brothers responded! I recovered. Then I launched another. They responded I recoverd. I launched another starting Lap 4, but couldn't shake either of them.

I smiled to myself wondering if I was hurting them or just myself. I tried one more before the first climb, again to no avail. Then I pushed it pretty good up the climb and through the first singletrack. As we approached Ho Chi Minh Jesse was losing air in his front tire and was losing contact. Marko seemed slighlty overgeared and as we climbed it was getting more and more quiet. I shot out of the single track with a 5 second gap and instantly attacked again.

I felt pretty confident I had enough in the tank to hold on for the win and finished with close to a minute over Marko. The legs were good, but the win came with much more pain than the previous weekend.

Andrea once again had a good race with much tougher competition. Her times were much closer to Abby and Holly. She finished 7th with quite a few good crashes. She was pretty amped up at the finish after getting crashed by a comp racer.

I am reading a book by Malcolm Gladwell right now called Outliers......it's pretty good and highly recommended. It reminds me of how many opportunties I have had to make it to where I am now. So thanks to all my sponsors, Gear Grinder, Trek, Hyundai, Oakley, Crank Bros, Bell Helmets, and thanks to all my Family and Friends who have supported me.

Monday, June 01, 2009

With only expectations of having fun on the weekend...I accomplished my goal!

It started with a short day of work Fri and a trip up to Eagle River and the in-laws cabin! I love that place as it is so relaxing even with monster porcupines trying to eat through the exterior walls.

Saturday was the 5th ride on the new Fuel on the Hidden Lakes trails gettin' 'er dialed in for my first WORS race of the season. Saturday night was some delicious pasta with wild morels. Mmmmm

Sunday morning was some fishin' for muskies and some pancakes. Then it was race time!

I really had no idea of what to expect from the group of guys....they had all been racing 100 milers, norba's, and on the road. I hadn't lined up for the start of a race since Feb and this was only my 6th ride on the new Fuel. Luckily the thing is like a rocket ship lazy boy.

I followed Jesse on Lap 1 and felt dialed in with the course right away. The old 24-9 team was back at it again off the front of the WORS race. I thought for sure I was going to be done for on the second lap, but I was able to match what felt like a strong surge towards the end of the lap. Startinf lap 3 the camelbak went dry and I thought for sure I was done, but made it 10 minutes into the singletrack and Marko flatted. Instantly I liked my odds a little better. The rain started and I felt the pace slow a hint on the corners, feeling even better. Needed to race smart though as I was still out of water and the dixie cups weren't cutting it...

Started to feel the muscles twinging, but needed to make it through one last section on singletrack and I was set to sprint Jesse for the win.

A great early season win to boost the confidence and confirm training is heading in the right direction.

Andrea also had an awesome race finishing 3rd in the pro womens field. She made a last minute decision to rock her road shoes and speedplays with the proper height adjustments that paid off with a less sore back. Hopefully the new MTB shoes from Dr. Bill in Tucson show up soon.

Finished up the weekend Sunday night back at the cabin with some ORV'S frozen pizza, a sweet massage from my new live in SIL massage therapist, and a Game 2 Wings win. Go WINGS